South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was sent to a detention center near Seoul on Wednesday night, after being questioned by anti-corruption officials who took him into custody over his imposition of martial law last month.
Yoon was detained in a major law enforcement operation at the presidential compound earlier in the day. Yoon defiantly insisted that the country’s anti-corruption agency, which led the raid with police, didn’t have the authority to investigate his actions, but said he complied to prevent violence.
Yoon, the country’s first sitting president to be apprehended, now faces the prospect of a lengthy prison term over potential rebellion charges.
In a video message recorded shortly before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country.”
Yoon had been holed up in the Hannam-dong residence in the capital, Seoul, for weeks while vowing to “fight to the end” the efforts to oust him. He has justified his declaration of martial law Dec. 3 as a legitimate act of governance against an “anti-state” opposition employing its legislative majority to thwart his agenda.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials said Yoon was brought into custody about five hours after investigators arrived at the presidential compound and about three hours after they successfully entered the residence, in their second attempt to detain him over his imposition of martial law.
A series of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, were seen leaving the presidential compound with police escorts. Yoon was later seen stepping out of a vehicle after arriving at the agency’s office in the nearby city of Gwacheon.
Hundreds of Yoon’s conservative supporters rallied near the anti-corruption agency’s office as he underwent questioning, shouting slogans and holding signs that read: “We will fight alongside President Yoon Suk Yeol.”
Also on Wednesday, an unidentified man was in life-threatening condition after an apparent self-immolation near the site, according to the Gyeonggi provincial fire department.
After he was questioned for more than 10 hours, a vehicle carrying Yoon arrived at a detention center in Uiwang, near Seoul, escorted by police and presidential security vehicles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.